So Much the Same
by SuicidalToeSocks
Summary: He stood there, almost as if he was expecting her. For the longest time since she stopped in front of him, neither said anything. But when he spoke, Lyra squeaked in surprise. "You must be Lyra," Red said. "I've heard lots of stories about you."


**A/N: Lyra is my bicycle character, I've come to accept this. It's kinda funny how I've never had one before now.**

Traversing Mt. Silver had not been easy. The road _to_ Mt. Silver had not been easy, either. But Lyra was more than willing to put forth the effort if she was to meet her childhood hero, the one spoken of in bedtime stories that had his share of lengthy adventures and stories abound.

Red was legendary. Since she was little, Lyra had heard stories about the famous trainer from Pallet Town who vanquished Team Rocket and all their plans. She heard about the eleven-year-old boy who collected all eight Kanto badges and faced the Elite Four, won, and became Champion. She'd heard legends about forgotten romances and captured legendary pokemon and rivals-turned-friends. Lyra wanted nothing more than to be just like him. When she grew up, she had told her mother, she wanted to be Red from Pallet Town.

She could tell from the minute she stepped foot outside the door to the mountain's base that few trainers had even been able to make it this far. The grass was taller than she had ever seen it, with weeds and vines and an assortment of prickly undergrowth that tangled through the grass and made it all the more wild. The mountain itself was quiet. Not the serene sort of quiet where birds still chirped and pokemon went on about their business. This was the sort of intense quiet that left Lyra on edge, waiting for whatever she could feel prowling in the grass to attack. She took a deep breath, sent out her pidgeot to flap quietly overhead to alert her of immediate danger, and dove head-first into the grass almost taller than her.

Her first stop in Kanto had been Pallet Town. She'd stopped by the lab there and chatted Professor Oak up about Red. What he knew, all about the boy, and where he might be right now. If Red were to be anywhere, Oak had said, it would be Mt. Silver. She wouldn't be able to get there without the other eight badges from Kanto though, he said, and sent her off on her way. With her pokemon leveled as they were, Lyra was ready for anything, and she found it almost too easy to collect the next eight badges. But she pushed that thought away as she presented all sixteen of her badges to the guard outside the entrance to her next stop. If she got to meet Red, it would all be worth it.

Lyra had seen a lone house on the mountainside on her climb up. She had been tempted to visit and ask whoever lived there if they had seen another trainer, maybe about eighteen? With a pikachu? But she refrained and pressed onward, though her socks were full of prickers and her forehead was sweating under the weight of her cap and both she and her pokemon were growing tired. She stopped by the pokemon center just outside the cave into the mountain, but refused to take a rest in the rooms, as the nurse behind the counter had heavily suggested. She wanted to waste no time getting to the summit, where she knew Red would be waiting to battle.

Yes, she was going to battle him. Battle him and win the title of Ultimate Champion. A term she had coined herself, but that was beside the point.

Mt. Silver Cave looked even more foreboding than the wilderness outside it. Lyra had never been a fan of dark places, she spent as little time in caves as possible. And thunderstorms? Forget about them. But she called her pidgeot back, called out her magneton, and moved forward into the blackness.

The mountain seemed even bigger from the inside. Like a giant inverted pyramid of some sort. If the ledges hadn't been too high up for her to reach, Lyra could have easily climbed straight up to the opening at the top of the cavern, but she had to make her way through other openings and passages to the top. She frequently made it back into the large room at the heart of the mountain, but with each level she climbed, a biting cold grew stronger and stronger until, she realized, there was snow blowing in from the outside.

The higher she climbed, the more snow she found until she finally reached an entrance out of the mountain when she thought she could go no higher. She was freezing, her pokemon were tired, but she stepped out into the mini-blizzard outside anyway. She became suddenly aware of the sheer drops off to either side of her, where she couldn't see the ground because there were clouds in the way. Snow whipped through her light clothes and biting at her skin, and she cursed herself for not dressing heavier. The tallest mountain in Kanto and Johto would have snow on top of it, of course! How come she didn't plan for that?

She stepped out onto the path that was lined on either side with a sheer drop to nowhere. It was all she could do, with every step, not to be blown off down the mountain. But the farther she got, the more she felt like she was about to walk herself off the mountain completely when she stopped.

Up a couple stairs, at the very peak of Mt. Silver, was a boy. He wasn't facing her, and he was staring off into the distance. A Pikachu was sitting on his shoulder, turned away as he was. Its ears twitched though, and as soon as her sneaker crunched the snow under it when she was mere steps away, it turned, saw her, and hopped down into the snow to alert its trainer. He turned to her.

It took all of her self-control to not fly down the walkway and attack Red with questions about him and his life and his adventures in stopping Team Rocket and becoming Champion and becoming a legend throughout Kanto and Johto. But she kept to herself and walked calmly, as if this were just another stroll with her pokemon. As if she wasn't walking toward a boy that would go down in history books as the greatest trainer to ever live. And suddenly, at that thought, fear overrode excitement in Lyra.

She was walking towards a living legend, and she expected to battle him.

Just because she thought that she had beaten Lance and had gained the title of Champion didn't make it official. This boy before her, probably of about eighteen, was the real test.

And then, when she got closer, her heart began trying to leap out of her throat for another reason entirely. He was a very handsome guy, she realized. He had choppy brown hair under a hat he'd pulled low over his face. He stood there, almost as if he was expecting her. For the longest time since she stopped in front of him, neither said anything. But when he spoke, Lyra squeaked in surprise.

"You must be Lyra," Red said. He had one of those warm voices, the nice kind that had an immense wisdom and power behind it. One that was very welcoming in the freezing weather around them. "I've heard lots of stories about you."

If she had been surprised to even hear him speak, it was a wonder her eyes didn't pop out of her head when he said _that_. "You've heard about me?"

"You've captured a legendary pokemon," he said. "You've beaten the Champion of the Elite Four, you have sixteen gym badges, and you smothered the attempts of a group I thought I had beaten years ago. And you're thirteen." Red tilted his cap up to look her in the eye. She felt like shrinking back, but she stood firm and held his eyes as long as she could. He was glad he was looking at her face because if not, he'd see her legs shaking.

"But I'm nowhere near as legendary as you!" she burst out. "I didn't take down Team Rocket when it was powerful, I don't have a rival that's going to turn into a gym leader. I may be the Champion, but only partially. I still have you to go through." Lyra averted her eyes. "I don't know if I want to take that risk."

A hand clapped down on her shoulder. Lyra felt even shorter now, with him standing over her so close. She hadn't been one of those tall kids in the first place. In fact, Lyra couldn't even be considered average. Red was _tall_, especially in her eyes, a good foot below his. His height was intimidating. "I can't imagine how you've managed to get this far with an attitude like that," he said. "Where's the powerful, living-legend Lyra I've been hearing about?"

She highly doubted he'd heard such a title from anyone, but the words themselves lifted her spirits a little. She'd beaten Lance, the Champion! He used dragon-type, the toughest type there was, and she had come out victorious. How was Red any different? He probably used pokemon with single-type weaknesses, too! She squared her shoulders and met his gaze evenly.

"Then I challenge you, Red of Pallet Town!" she announced. "A six-on-six battle. I can't lose." Red stepped back, a little bemused.

"I accept your challenge, Lyra of New bark Town," he said with as much gusto as she had. Though, she suspected from the twinkle in his eyes, he was teasing her just a little bit. He snapped his fingers and his Pikachu came running, lightning-bolt tail erect in the air. Lyra, at the same time, tossed out her Piloswine, going for the type-advantage. "Are you ready?" he asked. Lyra nodded.

It was maybe ten minutes later that her last pokemon fainted and she looked up to see Red with Pikachu propped on his shoulder, the little pokemon with hardly a scratch on it. One pokemon had wiped out her entire team! One little, unevolved pokemon had wiped out a team that had taken out Lance and every gym leader in the Kanto and Johto regions! She scooped up her Starmie in her arms and glared at Red. Childhood hero? Not anymore. He didn't even care that she had lost, it seemed. He just stared at her, waiting for her to make her next move. Finally, when angry tears began to well up in her eyes, she began her shouting.

"How can you just stand there and watch?" she shouted. "You took out my entire team with one pokemon, and you don't even look like you care!" She called back her pokemon and put all of her pokemon in her purse for safe keeping. "I can't believe you! You're worse than Silver!" At the mention of her rival, her heart panged. Was this how Blue had felt every time he lost to this guy? "I'm going to go heal my friends and train them some more. And when I get back, I'm _not_ losing to you! I won't lose to someone who feels no remorse for what he just did!" And she turned on her heel and sprinted through the snow, over the enormous nothing beneath her, and through the mountain, back to Pallet Town, doing all she could to protect herself and her pokemon from further harm.

She woke up in a chair in Professor Oak's office, a thick blanket wrapped around her. Her knees were pulled up to her chest, and her hat lay on the floor beside her, as well as her purse, which contained six pokeballs with her newly-healed pokemon. She rubbed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember how she had gotten there, when the day before had been recalled back to memory in a fleeting instant. Her face darkened.

"Good morning, Lyra! It's good to see you awake, finally," the Professor said, walking in with a tray of hot tea in his hands. "Would you care for a cup?"

"I thought you said Red was the best trainer to ever live," she said softly. Oak's eyebrows knit together. "I thought you said he was the aspirations of other trainers. That he was kind and loved pokemon and treated them with care."

"He does, Lyra." Oak poured her a cup, despite her not answering his question before. He handed it to her, and the blanket fell away from her shoulders as she reached out for it. "I only research pokemon behaviors, but he knows more about the feelings and emotions of pokemon than I could ever hope to know. He connects with them on an entirely different level."

"You're wrong," she whispered. The Professor stopped preparing his own cup, hunched over the tray he had set down.

"Pardon?"

"You're wrong!" she said again. "He doesn't treat them as if he knows them, he treats them lower than animals! He acts as if they don't matter, like they're another obstacle to push past. I didn't see any love in the way he battled, I only saw him brushing me off as if I were a pesky zubat." She stood, the blanket fell to the floor, and she picked up her hat and pokemon. "I'm going to go train. I'm not about to give up at the likes of him. The next time I battle him, I won't let him win."

Oak shook his head lightly, as if disapproving. "I can't stop you, Lyra, but I believe you've misjudged him." She opened her mouth for a hot retort, but he spoke again quickly. "However, if you are intent on further training, I would go to the one who's battled him most. I'm sure they have more knowledge than I do that can help you." On that note, he nodded his goodbye to her and moved deeper into his lab to start his day's work. She thought about his words for a second, turning them over in her head, before she snapped her fingers as the lightbulb turned on. Blue! He was Red's rival, he would know _everything_ about Red's battling styles!

She decided to forgo the flying and instead opted to take a stroll through Viridian forest, now that she knew the way. It was very pretty, much prettier than Ilex forest back in Johto. Here, the sun shone through the spaces in the leaves and the spots that weren't illuminated by dappled sunlight were glowing almost green with the light shining through the leaves. And that aside, Lyra had always liked bug catchers because they were always so friendly, and this forest was full of them.

One cheerful walk later, (one which her magneton had been glad to take,) Lyra was standing outside the two doors of the Viridian Gym, a pre-battle rhythm being pounded into her chest by her heart. But why was she nervous? She'd already _beaten_ Blue once before! It had been a tough battle, for sure, but nothing she couldn't handle. Maybe that was why she was nervous? She was afraid Blue would be resentful. Of all the stories she'd heard of Red, Blue had snaked his way into a few of them as well. He had been a sore loser for a time, changed his ways, learned some things from Red, but still never managed to beat him in their final, epic battle before Red disappeared.

She squared her jaw. Those stories about Blue learning things from Red? They had to be false. She'd battled Blue, he had tried his hardest from the moment they started battle, of course. He and his pokemon were close, even though he lost. Red hadn't been like that.

Alight with a new fire of determination, Lyra pushed open the doors and made her way across the dizzyfying floors of his gym (seriously, what was he trying to do? Make his opponents hurl their guts before they challenged him?) to the platform Blue stood on. As she regained her balance from spinning nonstop, Blue took one look at her and put his hands in the pockets of his black jacket.

"Lyra, I remember you. What are you doing her?" He hadn't asked it in a friendly manner, he seemed annoyed, a bit bothered, and completely condescending. She shook her head a bit to clear the last of the dizzy spells and made her way to him, shoulders back, though slightly deflated by his attitude.

"I've come to ask you a favor," she said. Blue smirked, then chuckled, then pulled his hands out of his pockets and held his sides while he laughed. It echoed around the gym, so loud that the trainers mingling in there all turned to look at their Leader, who as nearly doubled over with laughter. Lyra's mouth tightened, her teeth clenched, and her arms folded. Blue had a reputation of being a bit of a jerk, but this?

"What's with the laughter? I didn't say anything funny," she asked coolly. Blue began calming down, but it took a while for him to get to a point where he could talk without having to stop himself to laugh.

"You, of course," he said. "You take no hesitation in wiping the floor with me, but as soon as you lose to Red, you come crawling back here to ask me for favors when I wasn't worth a second glance at first!" He laughed again, but this time it wasn't as long or as hard as before. This time, it was condescending and biting. But Lyra was open-mouthed.

"How did you know I challenged Red?"

"That's where all the good trainers go after they make it past me," he said. "They've all heard the stories, same as you. They all think that as soon as they can beat me, the boy who gave Red the best battle of his life, they can go challenge him and have a shot at winning. But they're all useless, of course. Nobody's beaten Red recently, or it would have made headlines." He put his hands back into his pockets. "The pattern is the exact same, but the irony is astounding every time."

"Please!" Lyra clasped her hands together. "At first, I thought I could beat him easily, but when I realized it was _Red_ I was talking about, I changed my mind and got worried about it. But then I lost to someone who treats pokemon horribly! He acted as if they didn't matter at all! He tossed mine around like paper dolls and when we finished, he didn't even _say_ anything!" Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Please! You're the only one who's battled him enough to help me out, Blue!"

When she looked up at him, all traces of his smirk had vanished. His arms were folded, and he looked disappointed. Almost annoyed.

"I haven't battled, nor seen Red for a long time, but I can promise you that he's nothing like you're making him out to be." When she opened her mouth to protest, he silenced her with a wave of his hand. "No, listen. I've known Red for years now. I was his rival. Red wouldn't harm a pokemon if he was held at gunpoint, and he is definitely not someone who treats pokemon poorly." He looked up at her and his gaze was hard, steely. "If you want my opinion, I see a lot of him in you, actually."

Lyra took a step back and her heart skipped a beat. "Me? How can you compare me to that jerk?"

"He's not a jerk, Lyra," he said. "The pair of you were child prodigies. I'd heard about you before you ever set foot in this gym. Think of your accomplishments. What all have you done since you left New Bark? Don't be modest, actually think."

Lyra thought.

There was the time at Slowpoke Well. There was the time she caught the Farfetch'd in Ilex forest. There was the time she surfed to Cianwood to get the medicine for Jasmine's sick Ampharos. She'd seen Suicune, who appeared only to worthy trainers, as legend went. She stopped the rampaging Red Gyarados at the Lake of Rage. She took down the Team Rocket base in Mahogany Town. She'd taken out the Radio Tower in Goldenrod, full of Team Rocket grunts and executives. She'd passed the Dragon User's Challenge that hadn't been passed since Lance had taken it as a teenager.

She'd beaten the Champion. She'd removed the Snorlax in front of Diglett Cave. She'd found the part stolen from the power plant and restored power to half of Kanto. She'd collected sixteen badges and traversed through all of Mt. Silver. She'd caught the legendary Ho-oh. A pokemon known only to the Hoenn region had come to Kanto for her. She'd met every champion from every region.

She was thirteen.

Blue was still looking at her with raised eyebrows. "Do you understand what I'm saying, Lyra?" She nodded. "Now, look at yourself. Do _you_ treat your pokemon like battle machines? Do _you_ treat them horribly?" She shook her head. "But when I battled you, you hardly so much as blinked and the battle was over. You didn't break a sweat, and you tossed my pokemon around like dolls as well. And afterward? You jumped up and down and squealed like a schoolgirl, thanked me for the badge, and ran out. But I don't think you're a horrible trainer."

Lyra felt color rise in her cheeks. She saw where this was going.

"When was the last time you lost a battle, Lyra?" he asked. She bit her lip. When _was_ the last time?

"I don't think I ever have," she said at last. "I don't think I've ever lost a battle." Blue nodded.

"Exactly. And the first time you lose to someone, it's devastating. I know so many people who have completely abandoned being a trainer because the first couple of losses hit them too hard. But for someone who's never lost since she started being a trainer, to suddenly lose to someone like Red, you're going to think he's horrible, that he only thinks about power, that he doesn't feel remorse for the pokemon he beats. But did you? Do you feel bad when you K.O. a pokemon?"

Lyra nodded. "I'm glad when I do and it's a tough battle, of course, but I still feel a little bad about it, yeah."

"Do you show it outwardly? Do you run onto the field to see if they're okay like you do when your own pokemon are knocked out?"

She shook her head. "No, it's the other trainer's responsibility to do that," she said. Blue nodded and turned away.

"See my point? Red is exactly the same way." He heaved a sigh. "When I battled you the first time, I knew that you'd be the trainer to challenge him, no question. You have a shot at winning for sure. You're too much like him. If you want my advice on beating him, pretend you're battling yourself. Maybe you'll see clearer then. Mew knows you have all the talent you need already."

She wasn't exactly sure how to take that compliment. What she was even more unsure of is Blue's dramatic comparison of herself to Red, but she pushed it to the back of her mind. She thanked him, but all he offered in reply was a toss of his hand over his shoulder. She waited a few moments, then took off out of the gym and made a stop at the local poke'mart before going back to Mt. Silver. It hadn't been twenty-four hours and she was already going back to challenge him. At least Mt. Silver wasn't so hard to get through the second time, now that she knew where she was going. But when she stopped at the pokemon center to heal her pokemon, she actually listened to Nurse Joy this time and took out a room. It was dark already and, anxious as she was, she needed an actual good night's rest if she wanted to be on top of her game the next day.

She checked into her room, tossed her stuff on the bed, changed into a pair of little red shorts and a small white t-shirt with short sleeves, jumped onto her bed, and thought better of it. She took all her pokeballs out, walked into the lobby, and waited for Nurse Joy to lock up the Center before she spoke.

"Can I send out my pokemon here?" she asked. "I feel like they need a big chance to stretch out right now." Nurse Joy smiled.

"I encourage it! They'll be lovely company for Chansey, we hardly get any new company to stay, they're always in a hurry to get up to Mt. Silver and challenge Red." She rolled her eyes in an amused way. "What a boy, that Red. Sends them home packing every time."

Lyra nodded and tossed out her pokemon. Magneton, Starmie, Piloswine, Pidgeot, Rapidash, and Gengar all materialized around her, stretched, and began poking around the Center, chatting with Chansey, or playing with each other. Lyra smiled, then took a seat in one of the big comfy chairs facing the fireplace off to the side of the lobby, pulled her knees up to her chest, and stared into the flames. Her stomach was dancing around with nerves. She still felt completely terrible about losing the first time. That was really the first battle she'd ever lost, wasn't it? It had to have been, she couldn't remember a time when she'd felt so helpless and empty. She'd been with her pokemon for a couple years, she couldn't remember what it felt like to be without them until that moment.

She heard Nurse Joy say "Good evening," to someone, and she heard someone's footsteps as they entered the room.

"It looks like a regular party in here," said the stranger. "Hey, would you mind if I sent out my friends to play with yours?" Lyra waved a hand at him without turning around, assuming he was speaking to her.

"Yeah, it's fine they'd love it," she said absently. She heard the noises of pokeball release buttons being pressed, and then five more pokemon joined hers in the giant lobby. The person came over and sat by her on the couch, but she didn't look over at him. She continued to hug her knees to her chest and stare into the flames.

"This place doesn't get too many visitors, what are you doing way out here?" he asked. Lyra shrugged.

"I'm resting up for a big battle tomorrow," she admitted. "I came to challenge someone, and I lost really bad. It was the first time I'd ever lost a battle before, and I think I might have overreacted afterward."

"The first time you've ever lost? Really?" said the stranger. She nodded.

"Yup. And I didn't realize what it was like. I thought he was being heartless and just pounding my pokemon away when he really wasn't, I just wasn't used to losing like that. It kinda makes me wonder who else out there thinks the same of me when I obviously didn't mean to make that impression."

"I'm sure there aren't many people who think that. After all, there aren't many people who can say they haven't ever lost a battle before." The stranger leaned back and put both arms up on the back of the couch. One of his hands touched Lyra's shoulder, the one furthest from him. She got a slight chill. "I like your reason better, though. I'm only here to sit down for the night, but I guess I'm going to be having a big battle myself tomorrow."

"What are you going to do?" she asked. She felt him shrug next to her.

"Battle the girl who's challenging me tomorrow," he said matter-of-factly. Lyra turned her head to ask what he was talking about, and her jaw went slack. Red was sitting right next to her, a twinkling smile on his face. His hat was gone, and so was his red vest. He was wearing only his black t-shirt and jeans, his shoes, presumably, kicked off in his room. She felt her face go completely red and she quick checked around behind her. A charizard, blastoise, venusaur, lapras, and pikachu were all sitting around, chatting with her pokemon. His snorlax, she figured, must have either been too big to release or asleep in his pokeball anyway. She turned back to him, eyes wide, and suddenly tucked her head between her arms and knees.

"I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry Red, oh my gosh! I didn't mean to yell like that, I was just really upset that I lost and I felt really lost without my pokemon to help me and I didn't mean any of it and I am so sorry!"

She heard him laugh lightly and pull her closer with an arm around her shoulders. She felt that familiar chill again. "Hey, calm down, it's not a big deal," he said. "I understand how you felt. I've lost battles before, too. It's really hard the first time."

Lyra peeked at him over her arm. He wasn't looking at her, so she continued peeking. "Are you sure?"

He looked down at her and she immediately stopped her peeking. "Positive. I'm just glad you're not mad. For a cute girl like yourself, anger isn't so becoming."

If she had been blushing earlier, her face was totally on fire now. He hugged her shoulders once, then pulled her face towards his and kissed her on the forehead. "I take it Blue talked you into this, didn't he?"

"Not at all," she replied. "More like he talked some sense into me. He thinks very highly of you," she said, turning to face him. He pretended to look shocked.

"Me? The weakling he had no time for? I ought to go thank him for such a compliment!" He put a hand to his chest and faked surprise, which sent Lyra into a fit of giggles. "But you know, it's getting late." He stood up, popped his back, and held out a hand to Lyra, which she took. "Nurse Joy, d'you think the pokemon could sleep out here for the night? They seem like they're all getting along really well." He glanced down at Lyra. "Is that okay with you?" She nodded.

"Of course, Red!" she called from a room behind the counter. "I'll make sure they go to bed at a decent hour."

Lyra and Red walked together back into the rentable rooms where they had both checked in and stopped just outside Lyra's door. "So, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course!" she said brightly. "And I plan on winning, if it makes any difference to you. I have some insider tips now!"

"I'm not going easy, if it makes any difference to you," he said, his amused smile back in place. Over his shoulder, Lyra saw that his pikachu was coming towards him down the hallway. Of course, his closest pokemon _would_ prefer to sleep with him than the others. Red leaned down and gave her a hug, one which she returned tentatively with another bright red face. Any more blushing and she just might lose blood flow altogether. He started to pull back and away when pikachu ran and took a big leap right up onto Red's shoulders, which sent him leaning forward again to save his balance, and his lips collided with Lyra's.

If he had _meant_ to kiss her, Lyra thought somewhere through her mind suddenly clouding over, the kiss would have been much better. But at that moment, though it was only lips touching lips, and not even a planned one at that, Lyra felt as though it were the best thing in the world. Both she and Red had been startled by it, but when he got his bearings, he pulled back, gave her a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose, and swatted Pikachu on the head for good measure. It looked thoroughly proud of itself.

"Maybe I ought to give you a real one of those when you win, one that wasn't a surprise to the both of us by a fat electric rat," he said with a laugh and a light pink tinge. The pokemon folded its arms indignantly and imitated him in a snooty fashion. The pair of them laughed, bid each other goodnight, and went into their respective rooms.

Laying in bed, however, Lyra decided she now had further motivation to beat Red. Not only would she gain an exceptional title, become the greatest trainer in the Johto and Kanto regions, but she would get a second, purposeful, much better kiss from Red himself. A boy who was incredibly strong, incredibly legendary, and incredibly handsome.

This thought put a serene smile on her face and she fell right to sleep.

* * *

A week later, Blue stepped out of his house with a yawn and a stretch, greeted the early morning with a hearty scratch on his bum, and promptly tripped over the abnormally thick newspaper sitting on his front walk. Cursing the bundle of paper, he grumbled his displeasure, picked it up to throw it away, and stopped himself as he read the headline. It was accompanied by a picture of Lyra and Red, his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist, as it was really the only part of him she could reach with their height differences. A pikachu perched between them with Red's hat on its head. A Magneton floated just next to Lyra, with her own puffy white thing perched on it. All of them were smiling broadly.

"_Young Girl from New Bark Beats Red; His First Loss in Years!"_

Blue smiled and opened up the paper.

**A/N: I didn't plan on this one being so long! It also took an entirely different turn from what I had been originally planning when I started after she challenged him to the first battle, and again after she lost and ran back to Pallet Town. Who'da thought, huh?**

**For once, I actually like something I wrote!**


End file.
